News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Saturday, February 4, 2023
Subsidies, digital and Indo-Pacific, but also Ukraine and Mercosur. These currently are the bread-and-butter trade issues in Brussels – and developments this week were very representative. Von der Leyen announces duty suspension extension for Ukraine European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced on Thursday (2 February) an extension to …
Complexity and ambiguity are the new reality of global trade policy.
Foreign policy think tanks, usually absent from the trade policy conversations, are now busy working with trade. Weaponisation of trade, export controls, and European tech sovereignty are the themes addressed by two Berlin-based think tanks in recent days: the European Council on Foreign Relations and the German Council on Foreign …
Preview of the week by Rob Francis and Chris Horseman. Singapore digital partnership to be unveiled On Wednesday (1 February) EU commissioner for the internal market Thierry Breton and Singapore trade minister S. Iswaran will sign the Singapore Digital Partnership in Brussels. The parties had announced that the partnership had …
It’s been a dense and intense week in EU trade. Here a few snippets. By Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer. Sweden wants those FTAs – but there’s trouble ahead on the Latin American front Sweden’s trade minister Johan Forssell confirmed on Tuesday (24 January) that the Swedish presidency of the …
War, a pandemic and the impending climate crisis have greatly impacted the global trade regime. ‘Multipurpose trade policy’ is the new game in town and the tight grip that international trade law once had over the international trading order is loosening. This paradigm shift is not without its challenges. These …
A World Trade Organization panel recently ruled in favour of Hong Kong in a dispute with the US regarding a requirement that imported goods should be marked as being of ‘China’ origin rather than ‘Hong Kong’ as hitherto. The panel upheld the rights of a small economy against the most …
A dense cold week ahead in trade policy in Europe. By Rob Francis, Chris Horseman and Iana Dreyer.
While everyone was away in Davos this week, business tried to seize the momentum on the coming EU sustainability corporate due diligence regulation and the European Commission acted to avoid having to repay Cambodian exporters duties paid as part a safeguard that was slapped down by the ECJ. By Rob …
The EU and the UK are investing strongly in finding an arrangement to address some British concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiated in the 2019 Brexit agreement. As things stand, reaching a deal will be very difficult. Succeeding however would draw a big prize for the UK’s diplomatic relationships …
